Stories  from  the  Tersian 


ABDULLA  OF  KHORASSAN 
AHMED   THE  COBBLER 


CAMBRIDGE 
CHARLES    IV.    SEVER 
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STORIES  FROM  THE    PERSIAN 


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ABDULLA   OF   KHORASSAN 


AHMED  THE   COBBLER 


CAMBRIDGE 
CHARLES     W.     SEVER 

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JOHN  WILSON  AND  SON,  CAMBRIDGE. 


ADVERTISEMENT. 


THESE  tales  are  taken  from  Malcolm's 
Sketches  of  Persia,  one  of  the  most  agree- 
able books  in  the  English  language,  though 
it  seems  scarcely  to  be  known  to  the  present 
generation  of  Americans.  They  were  recited 
to  Malcolm,  while  he  was  on  a  mission  to 
Persia,  at  the  beginning  of  this  century, 
by  story-tellers  of  the  highest  reputation, 
who  enjoyed,  and  I  think  every  reader  will 
allow  deserved,  royal  favor.  I  have  long 
wished  to  see  them  reprinted,  for  the  pleas- 
ure which  they  are  sure  to  give ;  and  I  am 
persuaded  that  many  will  feel  obliged  to  the 
publisher  for  bringing  to  their  notice  what 
will  be  practically  a  charming  novelty. 

F.  J.  CHILD. 

CAMBRIDGE, 

Nov.  1,  1887. 


STORY 


ABDULLA  OF  KHORASSAN. 


Ix  a  sequestered  vale  of  the  fruitful 
province  of  Khorassan  there  lived  a 
peasant  called  Abdulla.  He  had  married 
a  person  in  his  own  rank  of  life,  who, 
though  very  plain  in  her  appearance, 
had  received  from  her  fond  father  the 
fine  name  of  Zeeba,  or  the  beautiful ;  to 
which  act  of  parental  folly  the  good 
woman  owed  the  few  seeds  of  vanity 
that  mixed  in  her  homely  character.  It 
was  this  feeling  that  led  her  to  name  her 
two  children  Yusuph  and  Fatima,  —  con- 
ceiving, no  doubt,  that  the  fortunate 
name  of  the  son  of  Yacoob,  the  vizier 
of  Far'oun  and  fascinator  of  Zuleikha, 


8          STORY   OF  ABDtJLLA   OF    KHORASSAN. 

would  aid  the  boy  in  his  progress  through 
life ;  while  there  could  be  no  doubt  of 
her  little  girl  receiving  equal  advantages 
from  being  named  after  the  daughter 
of  the  Prophet  and  the  wife  of  the  re- 
nowned Ali. 

With  all  these  family  pretensions  from 
high  names,  no  man's  means  could  be 
more  humble  or  views  more  limited  than 
those  of  Abdulla ;  but  he  was  content 
and  happy.  He  was  strong  and  healthy, 
and  labored  for  the  reis,  or  squire,  who 
owned  the  land  on  which  his  cottage 
stood  ;  he  had  done  so  from  youth,  and 
had  never  left,  nor  ever  desired  to  leave, 
his  native  valley.  The  wages  of  his  la- 
bor were  paid  in  grain  and  cloth,  sufficient 
for  the  food  and  clothing  of  his  family 
and  himself ;  with  money  he  was  unac- 
quainted except  by  name. 

It  happened,  however,  one  day,  that 
the  reis  was  so  well  pleased  with  Ab- 
dulla's  exertions  that  he  made  him  a 
present  of  ten  piastres.  Abdulla  could 
hardly  express  his  thanks,  he  was  so  sur- 


STORY   OF   ABDtjLLA   OF   KHORASSAN.  9 

prised  and  overjoyed  at  this  sudden  influx 
of  wealth.  The  moment  he  could  get 
away  from  his  daily  labor  he  ran  home 
to  his  wife.  "  There,  my  Zeebfi,"  said  he, 
"  there  are  riches  for  you !  "  and  he 
spread  the  money  before  her.  The  as- 
tonishment and  delight  of  the  good 
woman  was  little  less  than  that  of  her 
husband,  and  the  children  were  called 
to  share  in  the  joy  of  their  parents. 
"Well,"  said  Abclulla,  still  looking  at 
the  money,  "the  next  thing  to  consider 
is,  what  is  to  be  done  with  this  vast  sum. 
The  reis  has  given  me  to-morrow  as  a 
holiday ;  and  I  do  think,  my  dear  wife,  if 
you  approve,  I  will  go  to  the  famous  city 
of  Meshed  :  I  never  saw  it,  but  it  is  not 
above  six  or  seven  fersekhs  distant.  I 
will  pay  my  devotions  at  the  shrine  of 
the  holy  Imam  Mehdee,  upon  whom  be 
God's  blessing,  and  like  a  good  Mahome- 
tan deposit  there  two  piastres,  —  one-fifth 
of  my  wealth,  —  and  then  I  will  go  to 
the  great  bazaar,  of  which  I  have  heard 
so  much,  and  purchase  with  the  remainder 


10        STORY   OF  ABDOLLA   OF   KHORASSAN. 

everything  you,  my  dear  wife  and  chil- 
dren, can  wish  ;  tell  me  what  you  would 
like  best." 

"  I  will  be  moderate,"  said  Zeeba  ;  "  I 
want  nothing  but  a  piece  of  handsome 
silk  for  a  dress  ;  I  think  it  would  be  be- 
coming ;  "  and  as  she  said  so,  all  the  asso- 
ciations to  which  her  father  had  given 
birth  when  he  gave  her  a  name,  shot 
across  her  mind.  "  Bring  me,"  said  the 
sturdy  little  Yusuph,  "  a  nice  horse  and 
a  sword."  "  And  me,"  said  his  sister,  in 
a  softer  tone,  "  an  Indian  handkerchief 
and  a  pair  of  golden  slippers."  "  Every 
one  of  these  articles  shall  be  here  to- 
morrow evening,"  said  Abdulla,  as  he 
kissed  his  happy  family ;  and  early  next 
morning,  taking  a  stout  staff  in  his  hand, 
he  commenced  his  journey  towards 
Meshed. 

When  Abdulla  approached  the  holy 
city,  his  attention  was  first  attracted  by 
the  cluster  of  splendid  domes  and  mina- 
rets which  encircled  the  tomb  of  the  holy 
Imam  Mehdee,  whose  roofs  glittered  with 


STORY  OF  ABDtiLLA   OF  KHORASSAN.       11 

gold.  He  gazed  with  wonder  at  a  sight 
which  appeared  to  him  more  like  those 
which  the  faithful  are  promised  in  heaven 
than  anything  he  ever  expected  to  see 
on  this  earth.  Passing  through  the 
streets  which  led  to  such  magnificent 
buildings,  he  could  look  at  nothing  but 
them.  When  arrived  at  the  gate  of  the 
sacred  shrine,  he  stopped  for  a  moment 
in  silent  awe,  and  asked  a  venerable 
priest,  who  was  reading  the  Koran,  if  he 
might  proceed,  explaining  at  the  same 
time  his  object.  "Enter,  my  brother," 
said  the  old  man.  "  Bestow  your  alms, 
and  you  shall  be  rewarded  ;  for  one  of 
the  most  pious  of  the  caliphs  has  said, 
'  Prayer  takes  a  man  half  way  to  para- 
dise ;  fasting  brings  him  to  its  portals ; 
but  these  are  only  opened  to  him  who 
is  charitable.' ' 

Having  deposited,  like  a  good  and 
pious  Mussulman,  the  fifth  l  of  his  treas- 

1  The  Mahometan  law  only  requires  a  small  deduc- 
tion on  account  of  charity  from  what  is  necessary  for 
subsistence;  but  of  all  superfluous  wealth  (and  such 


12       STORY   OF  ABDtiLLA   OF   KIIOKASSAN. 

ure  on  the  shrine  of  the  holy  Imam, 
Abdulla  went  to  the  great  bazaar ;  on 
entering  which  his  senses  were  quite  con- 
founded by  the  novel  sight  of  the  pedes- 
trian crowd  hurrying  to  and  fro,  the 
richly-caparisoned  horses,  the  splendid 
trains  of  the  nobles,  and  the  loaded  cam- 
els and  mules,  which  filled  the  space  be- 
tween rich  shops,  where  every  ware  of 
Europe,  India,  China,  Tartary,  and  Persia 
was  displayed.  He  gazed  with  open 
mouth  at  everything  he  saw,  and  felt 
for  the  first  time  what  an  ignorant  and 
insignificant  being  he  had  hitherto  been. 
Though  pushed  from  side  to  side  by 
those  on  foot,  and  often  nearly  run  over 
by  those  on  horseback,  it  was  some  time 
before  he  became  aware  of  the  dangers 
to  which  his  wonder  exposed  him.  These 
accidents,  however,  soon  put  him  out  of  hu- 
mor with  the  bustle  he  had  at  first  so  much 
admired,  and  determined  him  to  finish  his 
business  and  return  to  his  quiet  home. 

Abdulla  deemed  his  ten  piastres),  true  believers  were 
expected  to  give  cue-fifth  to  the  poor. 


STORY   OF   ABDfJXLA   OF   KHORASSAN.        13 

Entering  a  shop  where  there  was  a 
number  of  silks  such  as  he  had  seen  worn 
by  the  family  of  the  reis,  he  inquired 
for  their  finest  pieces.  The  shopman 
looked  at  him,  and  observing  from  his 
dress  that  he  was  from  the  country,  con- 
cluded he  was  one  of  those  rich  farmers 
who,  notwithstanding  the  wealth  they 
have  acquired,  maintain  the  plain  habits 
of  the  peasantry,  to  whom  they  have  a 
pride  in  belonging.  He  consequently 
thought  he  had  a  good  customer ;  that 
is,  a  man  who  added  to  riches  but  little 
knowledge  of  the  article  he  desired  to 
purchase.  With  this  impression  he  tossed 
and  tumbled  over  every  piece  of  silk  in 
his  shop.  Abdulla  was  so  bewildered  by 
their  beauty  and  variety,  that  it  was  long 
before  he  could  decide  ;  at  last  he  fixed 
upon  one,  which  was  purple,  with  a  rich 
embroidered  border.  "  I  will  take  this," 
he  said,  wrapping  it  up  and  putting  it 
under  his  arm  ;  "  what  is  the  price  ?" 

"  I  shall  only  ask  you,  who  are  a  new 
customer,"  said  the  man,  "  two  hundred 


14       STORY   OF   ABDCLLA   OF   KHORASSAN. 

piastres  ;  I  should  ask  any  one  else  three 
or  four  hundred  for  so  exquisite  a  speci- 
men of  manufacture,  but  I  wish  to  tempt 
you  back  again,  when  you  leave  your 
beautiful  lands  in  the  country  to  honor 
our  busy  town  with  your  presence." 
Abdulla  stared,  replaced  the  silk,  and 
repeated  in  amazement,  "  Two  —  hun- 
dred —  piastres  !  you  must  be  mistaken  ; 
do  you  mean  such  piastres  as  these?" 
taking  one  out  of  the  eight  he  had  left 
in  his  pocket,  and  holding  it  up  to  the 
gaze  of  the  astonished  shopkeeper.  "  Cer- 
tainly I  do,"  said  the  latter  ;  "  and  it  is 
very  cheap  at  that  price."  u  Poor  Zeeba ! " 
said  Abdulla,  with  a  sigh,  at  the  thoughts 
of  her  disappointment.  "  Poor  who  ?  " 
said  the  silk-mercer.  "  My  wife,"  said 
Abdulla.  "  What  have  I  to  do  with  your 
wife  ?  "  said  the  man,  whose  tone  altered 
as  his  chance  of  sale  diminished.  "  Why," 
said  Abdulla,  "  I  will  tell  you  all :  I 
have  worked  hard  for  the  reis  of  our  vil- 
lage ever  since  I  was  a  boy ;  I  never  saw 
money  till  yesterday,  when  he  gave  me 


STORY  OF  ABDtfLLA  OF   KHORASSAN.       15 

ten  piastres.  I  came  to  Meshed,  where 
I  had  never  been  before.  I  have  given, 
like  a  good  Mussulman,  a  fifth  of  my 
wealth  to  the  Imam  Mehdee,  the  holy 
descendant  of  our  blessed  Prophet,  and 
with  the  eight  remaining  piastres  I  intend 
to  buy  a  piece  of  embroidered  silk  for  my 
good  wife,  a  horse  and  sword  for  my  little 
boy,  and  an  Indian  handkerchief  and  a 
pair  of  golden  slippers  for  my  darling 
daughter ;  and  here  you  ask  me  two  hun- 
dred piastres  for  one  piece  of  silk !  How 
am  I  to  pay  you,  and  with  what  money 
am  I  to  buy  the  other  articles,  —  tell 
me  that !  "  said  Abdulla,  in  a  reproach- 
ful tone.  "  Get  out  of  my  shop  !  "  said 
the  enraged  vender  of  silks  ;  "  here  have 
I  been  wasting  my  valuable  time,  and 
rumpling  my  choicest  goods,  for  a  fool 
and  a  madman  !  Go  along  to  your  Zeeba 
and  your  booby  children  ;  buy  stale  cakes 
and  black  sugar  for  them,  and  do  not 
trouble  me  any  more."  So  saying,  he 
thrust  his  new  and  valued  customer  out 
of  the  door. 


16        STORY   OF  ABDOLLA   OP   KHORASSAN. 

Abdulla  muttered  to  himself  as  he  went 
away,  "  No  doubt  this  is  a  rascal,  but 
there  may  be  honest  men  in  Meshed  ;  I 
will  try  amongst  the  horse-dealers ;  and 
having  inquired  where  these  were  to  be 
found,  he  hastened  to  get  a  handsome 
pony  for  Yusuph.  No  sooner  bad  be 
arrived  at  the  horse  market,  and  made 
his  wishes  known,  than  twenty  were  ex- 
hibited. As  he  was  admiring  one  that 
pranced  along  delightfully,  a  friend, 
whom  he  had  never  seen  before,  whis- 
pered him  to  beware ;  that  the  animal, 
though  he  went  very  well  when  heated, 
was  dead  lame  when  cool.  He  bad 
nearly  made  up  his  mind  to  purchase 
another,  when  the  same  man  significantly 
pointed  to  the  hand  of  the  owner,  which 
was  one  finger  short,  and  then  champing 
with  his  mouth  and  looking  at  the  ad- 
mired horse,  gave  Abdulla  to  understand 
that  his  beloved  boy  might  incur  some 
hazard  from  such  a  purchase.  The  very 
thought  alarmed  him  ;  and  he  turned  to 
his  kind  friend,  and  asked  if  he  could  not 


STORY   OF   ABDtLLA    OF   KHORASSAN.       17 

recommend  a  suitable  animal.  The  man 
said  his  brother  had  one,  which,  if  he 
could  be  prevailed  upon  to  part  with, 
would  just  answer,  but  he  doubted 
whether  he  would  sell  him ;  yet  as  his 
son,  who  used  to  ride  this  horse,  was  gone 
to  school,  he  thought  he  might.  Abdulla 
was  all  gratitude,  and  begged  him  to  ex- 
ert his  influence.  This  was  promised  and 
done  ;  and  in  a  few  minutes  a  smart 
little  gray  horse,  with  head  and  tail  in 
the  air,  cantered  up.  The  delighted 
peasant  conceived  Yusuph  on  his  back, 
and  in  a  hurry  to  realize  his  vision,  de- 
manded the  price.  "  Any  other  person 
but  yourself,"  said  the  man,  "  should  not 
have  him  for  one  piastre  less  than  two 
hundred ;  but  as  I  trust  to  make  a  friend 
as  well  as  a  bargain,  I  have  persuaded 
my  brother  to  take  only  one  hundred  and 
fifty."  The  astonished  Abdulla  stepped 
back.  "  Why,  you  horse-dealers,"  said 
he,  "  whom  I  thought  were  such  good 
men,  are  as  bad  as  the  silk-mercers !  " 
He  then  recapitulated  to  his  friend  the 


18       STORY^OF   ABDtLLA   OF   KHORASSAN. 

rise  of  his  present  fortune,  and  all  that 
had  occurred  since  he  entered  Meshed. 
The  man  had  hardly  patience  to  hear 
him  to  a  close.  "  And  have  I,"  said  he, 
"  been  throwing  away  my  friendship,  and 
hazarding  a  quarrel  with  my  brethren, 
by  an  over-zealous  honesty  to  please  a 
fool  of  a  bumpkin  ?  Get  along  to  your 
Zeeba,  and  your  Yusuph,  and  your  Fati- 
ma,  and  buy  for  your  young  hopeful  the 
sixteenth  share  of  a  jackass !  The  small- 
est portion  of  that  animal  is  more  suited 
to  your  means  and  your  mind  than  a  hair 
of  the  tail  of  the  fine  horses  you  have 
presumed  to  look  at," 

So  saying,  he  went  away  in  a  rage, 
leaving  Abdulla  in  perfect  dismay.  He 
thought,  however,  he  might  still  succeed 
in  obtaining  some  of  the  lesser  articles ; 
he,  however,  met  with  nothing  but  dis- 
appointment :  the  lowest-priced  sword 
was  thirty  piastres,  the  golden  slippers 
were  twenty,  and  a  small  Indian  hand- 
kerchief was  twelve,  being  four  piastres 
more  than  all  he  possessed. 


STORY   OF   ABDtfLLA   OF   KHORASSAN.        19 

Disgusted  with  the  whole  scene,  the 
good  man  turned  his  steps  towards  home. 
As  he  was  passing  through  the  suburbs  he 
met  a  holy  mendicant  exclaiming,  "Char- 
ity, charity  !  He  that  giveth  to  the  poor 
lendeth  to  the  Lord  ;  and  he  that  lendeth 
to  the  Lord  shall  be  repaid  a  hundred- 
fold." "What  is  that  you  say?"  said 
Abdulla.  The  beggar  repeated  his  ex- 
clamation. "  You  are  the  only  person  I 
can  deal  with,"  said  the  good  but  simple 
peasant ;  "  there  are  eight  piastres,  —  all 
I  possess ;  take  them,  and  use  them  in 
the  name  of  the  Almighty,  but  take  care 
that  I  am  hereafter  paid  a  hundred-fold, 
for  without  it  I  shall  never  be  able  to 
gratify  my  dear  wife  and  children." 
And  in  the  simplicity  of  his  heart  he  re- 
peated to  the  mendicant  all  which  had 
occurred,  that  he  might  exactly  under- 
stand the  situation  in  which  he  was 
placed. 

The  holy  man,  scarcely  able  to  suppress 
a  smile  as  he  carefully  folded  up  the  eight 
piastres,  bade  Abdulla  to  be  of  good  heart 


20       STORY   OF   ABDCLLA.   OF   KHORASSAN. 

and  rely  upon  a  sure  return.  He  then 
left  him,  exclaiming  as  before,  "  Charity, 
charity  !  He  that  giveth  to  the  poor 
lendeth  to  the  Lord;  and  he  that  lendeth 
to  the  Lord  shall  be  repaid  a  hundred- 
fold." 

When  Abdulla  came  within  sight  of 
his  cottage,  they  all  ran  to  meet  him. 
The  breathless  Yusuph  was  the  first  who 
reached  his  father :  "  Where  is  my  horse 
and  my  sword  ?  "  "  And  my  Indian 
handkerchief  and  golden  slippers  ?  "  said 
little  Fatima,  who  had  now  come  up. 
"  And  my  silk  vest  ? "  said  Zeebii,  who 
was  close  behind  her  daughter.  "  But 
wealth  has  changed  your  disposition,  my 
dear  Abdulla  ! "  said  the  good  woman. 
"  You  have  become  grave,  and,  no  doubt," 
she  added  with  a  smile,  "  so  dignified, 
that  you  could  not  be  burdened,  but  have 
hired  a  servant  to  bring  home  the  horse 
and  to  carry  the  presents  for  your  family. 
Well,  children,  be  patient ;  we  shall  see 
everything  in  a  few  minutes."  Abdulla 
shook  his  head,  but  would  not  speak  a 


STORY   OP  ABDfJLLA.   OF   KIIORASSAN.        21 

word  till  he  entered  his  dwelling.  He 
then  seated  himself  on  his  coarse  mat, 
and  repeated  all  his  adventures,  every 
part  of  which  was  heard  with  temper  till 
his  last  act,  —  that  of  giving  his  piastres 
to  the  mendicant.  Zeeba,,  who  had  a 
little  more  knowledge  of  the  world  than 
her  husband,  and  whose  mind  was  ruffled 
by  disappointment,  loudly  reproached 
him  with  his  stupidity  and  folly  in  thus 
throwing  away  the  money  he  had  ob- 
tained by  the  liberality  of  the  reis,  to 
whom  she  immediately  went  and  gave 
information  of  all  that  had  occurred. 
The  enraged  squire  sent  for  Abdulla. 
"You  blockhead,"  said  he,  "what  have 
you  been  about  ?  I,  who  am  a  man  of 
substance,  never  give  more  than  a  copper 
coin  to  these  vagabond  rascals  who  go 
about  asking  charity  ;  and  here  you  have 
given  one  of  them  eight  piastres, — enough 
to  spoil  the  whole  generation :  but  he 
promised  you  a  hundred-fold,  and  you 
shall  have  it  to  prevent  future  folly. 
Here,"  said  he  to  the  servants  near  him, 


22   STORY  OF  ABDOLLA  OF  KHORASSAN. 

"  seize  the  fellow,  and  give  him  a  hun- 
dred stripes  !  "  The  order  was  obeyed 
as  soon  as  given,  and  poor  Abdiilla  went 
home  on  the  night  of  the  day  following 
that  which  had  dawned  upon  his  wealth, 
sore  from  a  beating,  without  a  coin  in  his 
pocket,  out  of  temper  with  silk-mercers, 
horse-dealers,  cutlers,  slipper-makers,  men- 
dicants, squires,  wives,  himself,  and  all 
the  world. 

Early  next  morning  Abdulla  was  awak- 
ened by  a  message  that  the  reis  wanted 
him.  Before  he  went  he  had  forgiven 
his  wife,  who  was  much  grieved  at  the 
punishment  which  her  indiscretion  had 
brought  upon  her  husband.  He  also 
kissed  his  children,  and  bid  them  be  of 
good  heart,  for  he  might  yet,  through 
God's  favor,  make  amends  for  the  disap- 
pointment he  had  caused  them.  When 
he  came  to  the  reis,  the  latter  said,  "  I 
have  found  a  job  for  you,  Abdulla,  that 
will  bring  you  to  your  senses :  here,  in 
this  dry  soil,  I  mean  to  dig  for  water, 
and  you  must  toil  day  after  day  till  it  is 


STORY   OF  ABDCLLA   OF   KHORASSAN.       23 

found."  So  saying,  he  went  away,  leav- 
ing Abdulla  to  his  own  sad  reflections 
and  hard  labor.  He  made  little  progress 
the  first  two  days  ;  but  on  the  third, 
when  about  six  cubits  below  the  surface, 
he  came  upon  a  brass  vessel ;  on  looking 
into  which  he  found  it  full  of  round 
white  stones,  which  were  beautiful  from 
their  smoothness  and  fine  lustre.  He 
tried  to  break  one  with  his  teeth,  but 
could  not.  "  Well,"  said  he,  "  this  is  no 
doubt  some  of  the  rice  belonging  to  the 
squire,  which  has  been  turned  into  stones. 
I  am  glad  of  it ;  he  is  a  cruel  master ; 
I  will,  however,  take  them  home  —  they 
are  very  pretty ;  and  now  I  recollect  I 
saw  some  very  like  them  at  Meshed  for 
sale.  But  what  can  this  be  ?  "  said  Ab- 
dulla to  himself,  disengaging  another 
pot  from  the  earth.  "  Oho  !  these  are 
darker,  they  must  have  been  wheat ; 
but  they  are  very  beautiful ;  and  here  !  " 
cried  he,  "  these  shining  pieces  of  glass 
are  finer  and  brighter  than  all  the  rest ; 
but  I  will  try  if  they  are  glass  ;  "  and  he 


24       STORY   OF   ABDOLLA   OF   KIIORASSAN. 

put  one  of  them  between  two  stones,  but 
could  not  break  it. 

Pleased  with  this  discovery,  and  be- 
lieving he  had  got  something  valuable, 
but  ignorant  "what  it  was,  he  dug  out  all 
he  could  find,  and  putting  them  into  a 
bag,  carefully  concealed  it  even  from  his 
wife.  His  plan  was,  to  obtain  a  day's 
leave  from  his  master  and  go  again  to 
Meshed,  where  he  had  hopes  of  selling 
the  pretty  stones  of  various  colors  for  as 
much  money  as  would  purchase  the  silk 
vest,  the  horse,  the  sword,  the  slippers, 
and  the  handkerchief.  His  mind  dwelt 
with  satisfaction  on  the  pleasing  surprise 
it  would  be  to  those  he  loved,  to  see 
him  return  home,  mounted  on  the  horse, 
and  loaded  with  the  other  articles.  But 
while  the  pious  Abdulla  indulged  in  this 
dream,  he  always  resolved  that  the  Imam 
Mehdee  should  receive  a  fifth  of  whatever 
wealth  he  obtained. 

After  some  weeks'  hard  labor  at  the 
well,  water  was  found.  The  reis  was  in 
good  humor,  and  the  boon  of  a  holiday 


STORY   OF  ABDtfLLA   OF   KHORASSAN.       25 

was  granted.  Abdulla  departed  before 
daylight,  that  no  one  might  see  the  bag 
which  he  carried  ;  when  close  to  Meshed, 
he  concealed  it  near  the  root  of  a  tree, 
having  first  taken  out  two  handfuls  of 
the  pretty  stones,  to  try  what  kind  of  a 
market  he  could  make  of  them.  He 
went  to  a  shop  where  he  had  seen  some 
like  them.  He  asked  the  man,  point- 
ing to  those  in  the  shop,  if  he  would  buy 
any  such  articles.  "  Certainly,"  said  the 
jeweller,  for  such  he  was ;  "  have  3-011 
one  to  sell?"  "One!"  said  Abdulla, 
"  I  have  plenty."  "  Plenty  !  "  repeated 
the  man.  "Yes;  a  bagful."  "Com- 
mon pebbles,  I  suppose  ;  can  you  show 
me  any  ?  "  "  Look  here  !  "  said  Abdulla, 
taking  out  a  handful,  which  so  surprised 
the  jeweller  that  it  was  some  time  before 
he  could  speak.  "  Will  you  remain  here, 
honest  man,"  said  he,  "  for  a  moment," 
trembling  as  he  spoke,  "  and  I  will  return 
instantly/'  So  saying,  he  left  the  shop, 
but  reappeared  in  a  few  minutes  with 
the  chief  magistrate  and  some  of  his  at- 


26       STORY  OF  ABDtTLLA  OF  KHORASSAN. 

tendants.  "  There  is  the  man,"  said  he ; 
"  I  am  innocent  of  all  dealings  with  him. 
He  has  found  the  long-lost  treasure  of 
Khoosroo  ; 1  his  pockets  are  filled  with 
diamonds,  rubies,  and  pearls,  in  price  and 
lustre  far  beyond  any  existing  ;  and  he 
says  he  has  a  bagful."  The  magistrate 
ordered  Abdulla  to  be  searched,  and  the 
jewels  which  had  been  described  were 
found.  He  was  then  desired  to  show 
where  he  had  deposited  the  bag,  which 
he  did ;  all  were  carefully  sealed,  arid 
carried  with  Abdulla  to  the  governor,  by 
whom  he  was  strictly  examined.  He 
told  his  whole  history  from  first  to  last : 
the  receiving  of  ten  piastres ;  his  charity 
at  the  shrine  of  the  Imam  ;  his  intended 
purchases ;  the  conduct  of  the  mercer, 
the  horse-dealer,  the  cutler,  the  slipper- 
maker  ;  the  promises  of  the  mendicant ; 
the  disappointment  and  anger  of  his 
wife ;  the  cruelty  of  the  reis ;  the  digging 
of  the  well ;  the  discovery  of  the  pretty 

1  Cyrus.     There  is  a  common  belief  in  Persia  that 
an  immense  treasure  was  buried  by  this  monarch. 


STORY    OF   ABDtiLLA   OF   KHORASSAN.      27 

stones ;  the  plan  formed  for  disposing  of 
them,  with  the  reserve  for  further  charity : 
all  this  was  narrated  with  a  clearness  and 
simplicity  that  stamped  its  truth,  which 
was  confirmed  by  the  testimony  of  his 
wife  and  children,  who  were  brought  to 
Meshed.  But  notwithstanding  this,  Ab- 
dulla,  his  family,  and  the  treasures  he 
had  found  were  a  few  days  afterwards 
despatched  for  Isfahan,  under  a  guard  of 
five  hundred  horsemen.  Express  couriers 
were  sent  before  to  advise  the  ministers 
of  the  great  Abbas  of  the  discovery  which 
had  been  made,  and  of  all  that  had  been 
done. 

During  these  proceedings  at  Meshed, 
extraordinary  events  occurred  at  Isfahan. 
Shah  Abbas  the  Great  saw  one  night  in 
a  dream  the  holy  Imam  Mehdee  clothed 
in  green  robes.  The  saint,  after  looking 
steadfastly  at  the  monarch,  exclaimed, 
"  Abbas,  protect  and  favor  my  friend  !  " 
The  king  was  much  troubled  at  this 
dream,  and  desired  his  astrologers  and 
wise  men  to  expound  it ;  but  they  could 


28       STOIIY   OF   ABDCLLA.   OP   KHORASSAN. 

not.  On  the  two  following  nights  the 
same  vision  appeared  and  the  same 
words  were  pronounced.  The  monarch 
lost  all  temper,  and  threatened  the  chief 
astrologer  and  others  with  death  unless 
they  relieved  the  anxiety  of  his  mind 
before  the  evening  of  the  same  day. 
While  preparations  were  making  for 
their  execution,  the  couriers  from  the 
governor  of  Meshed  arrived,  and  the 
vizier,  after  perusing  the  letters,  hastened 
to  the  king.  "  Let  the  mind  of  the 
refuge  of  the  world  be  at  repose,"  he 
said,  "  for  the  dream  of  our  monarch  is 
explained.  The  peasant  Abdulla  of  Kho- 
rassan,  who,  though  ignorant  and  poor, 
is  pious  and  charitable,  and  who  has  be- 
come the  chosen  instrument  of  Providence 
for  discovering  the  treasures  of  Khoosroo, 
is  the  revealed  friend  of  the  holy  Imam 
Mehdee,  who  has  commanded  that  this 
good  and  humble  man  be  honored  by 
the  protection  and  favor  of  the  king  of 
kings." 

Shah  Abbas  listened  to  the  particulars 


STORY   OF   ABDtfLLA.   OF   KIIORASSAN.       29 

which  were  written  from  Meshed  with 
delight ;  his  mind  was  quite  relieved,  and 
he  ordered  all  his  nobles  and  his  army  to 
accompany  him  a  day's  march  from  Isfa- 
han to  meet  the  friend  of  the  holy  Imam. 
When  the  approach  of  the  party  was  an- 
nounced, the  king  walked  from  his  tent 
a  short  distance  to  meet  them.  First 
came  one  hundred  horsemen  ;  next  Ab- 
dulla, with  his  arms  bound,  sitting  on  a 
camel;  after  him,  on  another,  his  wife 
Zeeba,  and  followed  by  their  children, 
Yusuph  and  Fatima,  riding  together  on 
a  third.  Behind  the  prisoners  was  the 
treasure.  A  hundred  horsemen  guarded 
each  flank,  and  two  hundred  covered  the 
rear.  Shah  Abbas  made  the  camels  which 
carried  Abdulla  and  his  family  kneel 
close  to  him,  and  aided,  with  his  royal 
hands,  to  untie  the  cords  by  which  the 
good  man  was  bound,  while  others  re- 
leased his  wife  and  children.  A  suit  of 
the  king's  own  robes  was  directed  to  be 
put  upon  Abdulla,  and  the  monarch  led 
him  to  a  seat  close  to  his  throne  :  but 


30       STORY   OF  ABDOLLA   OF   KHORASSAN.  - 

before  he  would  consent  to  be  seated,  he 
thus  addressed  his  majesty  :  — 

"  0  King  of  the  Universe,  I  am  a  poor 
man,  but  I  was  contented  with  my  lot, 
and  happy  in  my  family,  till  I  first  knew 
wealth.  From  that  day  my  life  has  been 
a  series  of  misfortunes :  folly  and  ambi- 
tion have  made  me  entertain  wishes  out 
of  my  sphere,  and  I  have  brought  dis- 
appointment and  misfortune  on  those 
I  loved  best ;  but  now  that  my  death 
is  near,  and  it  pleases  your  majesty  to 
amuse  yourself  with  a  mock  honor  to 
your  slave,  he  is  satisfied,  if  your  royal 
clemency  will  only  spare  the  lives  of  that 
kind  woman  and  these  dear  children. 
Let  them  be  restored  to  the  peace  and 
innocence  of  their  native  valley,  and 
deal  with  me  according  to  your  royal 
pleasure." 

On  uttering  these  words,  Abdiilla,  over- 
come by  his  feelings,  burst  into  tears. 
Abbas  was  himself  greatly  moved.  "  Good 
and  pious  man,"  he  said,  "  I  intend  to 
honor,  not  to  slay  thee.  Thy  humble 


STORY   OF  ABDtLLA   OF   KHORASSAN.       31 

and  sincere  prayers,  and  thy  charitable 
offerings  at  the  shrine  of  the  holy  Meh- 
dee,  have  been  approved  and  accepted. 
He  has  commanded  me  to  protect  and 
favor  thee.  Thou  shalt  stay  a  few  days 
at  my  capital,  to  recover  from  thy  fa- 
tigues, and  return  as  governor  of  that 
province  from  which  thou  hast  come  a 
prisoner.  A  wise  minister,  versed  in  the 
forms  of  office,  shall  attend  thee;  but  in 
thy  piety  and  honesty  of  character  I  shall 
find  the  best  qualities  for  him  who  is 
destined  to  rule  over  others.  Thy  good 
wife  Zeeba  has  already  received  the  silk 
vest  she  so  anxiously  expected ;  and  it 
shall  be  my  charge,"  continued  the  gra- 
cious monarch,  with  a  smile,  "  to  see 
Yusuph  provided  with  a  horse  and  sword, 
and  that  little  Fatima  shall  have  her 
handkerchief  and  golden  slippers." 

The  manner  as  well  as  the  expressions 
of  the  king  dispelled  all  Abdulla's  fears 
and  filled  his  heart  with  boundless  grati- 
tude. He  was  soon  after  nominated 
governor  of  Khorassan,  and  became  fa- 


32       STORY   OF   ABDflLLA   OF   KHORASSAN. 

mous  over  the  country  for  his  humanity 
and  justice.  He  repaired,  beautified,  and 
richly  endowed  the  shrine  of  the  holy 
Imam,  to  whose  guardian  care  he  ever 
ascribed  his  advancement.  Yiisuph  be- 
came a  favorite  of  Abbas,  and  was  dis- 
tinguished by  his  skill  in  horsemanship, 
and  by  his  gallantry.  Fatima  was  mar- 
ried to  one  of  the  principal  nobles,  and 
the  good  Zeeba  had  the  satisfaction 
through  life  of  being  sole  mistress  in  her 
family,  and  having  no  rival  in  the  affec- 
tion of  her  husband,  who  continued  to 
cherish,  in  his  exalted  situation,  those 
ties  and  feelings  which  had  formed  his 
happiness  in  humble  life. 


STORY 


AHMED    THE    COBBLER. 


IN  the  great  city  of  Isfahan  lived  Ah- 
med the  cobbler,  an  honest  and  industri- 
ous man,  whose  wish  was  to  pass  through 
life  quietly ;  and  he  might  have  done 
so,  had  he  not  married  a  handsome  wife, 
who,  although  she  had  condescended  to 
accept  of  him  as  a  husband,  was  far  from 
being  contented  with  his  humble  sphere 
of  life. 

Sittara  —  such  was  the  name  of  Ah- 
med's wife  —  was  ever  forming  foolish 
schemes  of  riches  and  grandeur ;  and 
though  Ahmed  never  encouraged  them, 
he  was  too  fond  a  husband  to  quarrel  with 
what  gave  her  pleasure :  an  incredulous 
smile  or  a  shake  of  the  head  was  his  only 
answer  to  her  often-told  day-dreams  ;  and 

3 


34          STORY   OF   AHMED   THE   COBBLER. 

she  continued  to  persuade  herself  that  she 
was  certainly  destined  to  great  fortune. 

It  happened  one  evening,  while  in 
this  temper  of  mind,  that  she  went  to 
the  Hermnam,  where  she  saw  a  lady 
retiring  dressed  in  a  magnificent  robe, 
covered  with  jewels,  and  surrounded  by 
slaves.  This  was  the  very  condition 
Sittara  had  always  longed  for,  and  she 
eagerly  inquired  the  name  of  the  happy 
person  who  had  so  many  attendants  and 
such  fine  jewels.  She  learned  it  was  the 
wife  of  the  chief  astrologer  to  the  king. 
With  this  information  she  returned  home. 
Her  husband  met  her  at  the  door,  but 
was  received  with  a  frown  ;  nor  could  all 
his  caresses  obtain  a  smile  or  a  word.  For 
several  hours  she  continued  silent,  and  in 
apparent  misery  ;  at  length  she  said,  — 

"  Cease  your  caresses,  unless  you  are 
ready  to  give  me  a  proof  that  you  do 
really  and  sincerely  love  me." 

"  What  proof  of  love,"  exclaimed  poor 
Ahmed,  "  can  you  desire,  which  I  will 
not  give  ?  " 


STORY  OF   AHMED  THE  COBBLER.          35 

"  Give  over  cobbling  ;  it  is  a  vile,  low 
trade,  and  never  yields  more  than  ten  or 
twelve  dinars  a  day.  Turn  astrologer ; 
your  fortune  will  be  made,  and  I  shall 
have  all  I  wish,  and  be  happy." 

"Astrologer ! "  cried  Ahmed, — "  astrol- 
oger! Have  you  forgotten  who  I  am, — 
a  cobbler  without  any  learning, — that* 
you  want  me  to  engage  in  a  profession 
which  requires  so  much  skill  and  knowl- 
edge ? " 

"  I  neither  think  nor  care  about  your 
qualifications,"  said  the  enraged  wife ; 
"  all  I  know  is,  that  if  you  do  not  turn 
astrologer  immediately,  I  will  be  divorced 
from  you  to-morrow." 

The  cobbler  remonstrated,  but  in  vain. 
The  figure  of  the  astrologer's  wife,  with 
her  jewels  and  her  slaves,  had  taken 
complete  possession  of  Sittara's  imagina- 
tion. All  night  it  haunted  her ;  she 
dreamt  of  nothing  else,  and  on  awaking 
declared  she  would  leave  the  house  if 
her  husband  did  not  comply  with  her 
wishes.  "What  could  poor  Ahmed  do  ? 


36          STORY   OF  AHMED  THE   COBBLER. 

He  was  no  astrologer ;  but  he  was  doting- 
ly  fond  of  his  wife,  and  he  could  not  bear 
the  idea  of  losing  her.  He  promised  to 
obey ;  and  having  sold  his  little  stock, 
bought  an  astrolabe,  an  astronomical  al- 
manac, and  a  table  of  the  twelve  signs 
of  the  zodiac.  Furnished  with  these,  he 
went  to  the  market-place,  crying :  "  I  am 
an  astrologer !  I  know  the  sun,  and  the 
moon,  and  the  stars,  and  the  twelve  signs 
of  the  zodiac ;  I  can  calculate  nativities  ;  I 
can  foretell  everything  that  is  to  happen ! " 
No  man  was  better  known  than  Ahmed 
the  cobbler.  A  crowd  soon  gathered  round 
him.  "  What,  friend  Ahmed,"  said  one, 
"  have  you  worked  till  your  head  is 
turned  ? "  "  Are  yon  tired  of  looking 
down  at  your  last,"  cried  another,  "  that 
you  are  now  looking  up  at  the  planets  ?  " 
These  and  a  thousand  other  jokes  assailed 
the  ears  of  the  poor  cobbler,  who,  notwith- 
standing, continued  to  exclaim  that  he 
was  an  astrologer,  having  resolved  on 
doing  what  he  could  to  please  his  beau- 
tiful wife. 


STORY   OF  AHMED  THE   COBBLER.          37 

It  so  happened  that  the  king's  jeweller 
was  passing  by.  He  was  in  great  distress, 
having  lost  the  richest  ruby  belonging  to 
the  crown.  Every  search  had  been  made 
to  recover  this  inestimable  jewel,  but  to 
no  purpose ;  and  as  the  jeweller  knew  he 
could  no  longer  conceal  its  loss  from  the 
king,  he  looked  forward  to  death  as  inev- 
itable. In  this  hopeless  state,  while  wan- 
dering about  the  town,  he  reached  the 
crowd  around  Ahmed,  and  asked  what 
was  the  matter.  "  Don't  you  know 
Ahmed  the  cobbler?"  said  one  of  the 
by-standers,  laughing.  "  He  has  been 
inspired,  and  is  become  an  astrologer." 

A  drowning  man  will  catch  at  a  broken 
reed ;  the  jeweller  no  sooner  heard  the 
sound  of  the  word  astrologer,  than  he 
went  up  to  Ahmed,  told  him  what  had 
happened,  and  said,  "  If  you  understand 
your  art,  you  must  be  able  to  discover 
the  king's  ruby.  Do  so,  and  I  will 
give  you  two  hundred  pieces  of  gold. 
But  if  you  do  not  succeed  within  six 
hours,  I  will  use  all  my  influence  at 


38          STORY   OF   AHMED   THE   COBBLER. 

court  to  have  you  put  to  death  as  an 
impostor." 

Poor  Ahmed  was  thunderstruck.  He 
stood  long  without  being  able  to  move  or 
speak,  reflecting  on  his  misfortunes,  and 
grieving,  above  all,  that  his  wife,  whom 
he  so  loved,  had,  by  her  envy  and  self- 
ishness, brought  him  to  such  a  fearful 
alternative.  Full  of  these  sad  thoughts, 
he  exclaimed  aloud,  "Oh,  woman,  woman  ! 
thou  art  more  baneful  to  the  happiness 
of  man  than  the  poisonous  dragon  of  the 
desert ! " 

The  lost  ruby  had  been  secreted  by  the 
jeweller's  wife,  who,  disquieted  by  those 
alarms  which  ever  attend  guilt,  sent  one 
of  her  female  slaves  to  watch  her  hus- 
band. This- slave,  on  seeing  her  master 
speak  to  the  astrologer,  drew  near ;  and 
when  she  heard  Ahmed,  after  some  mo- 
ments of  apparent  abstraction,  compare 
a  woman  to  a  poisonous  dragon,  she  was 
satisfied  that  he  must  know  everything. 
She  ran  to  her  mistress,  and,  breathless 
with  fear,  cried,  "  You  are  discovered,  my 


STORY  OF  AHMED  THE  COBBLER.  39 

dear  mistress,  —  you  are  discovered  by 
a  vile  astrologer.  Before  six  hours  are 
past,  the  whole  story  will  be  known,  and 
you  will  become  infamous,  if  you  are  even 
so  fortunate  as  to  escape  with  life,  unless 
you  can  find  some  way  of  prevailing  on 
him  to  be  merciful."  She  then  related 
what  she  had  seen  and  heard ;  and  Ah- 
med's exclamation  carried  as  complete 
conviction  to  the  mind  of  the  terrified 
mistress  as  it  had  done  to  that  of  her 
slave. 

The  jeweller's  wife,  hastily  throwing 
on  her  veil,  went  in  search  of  the  dreaded 
astrologer.  When  she  found  him,  she 
threw  herself  at  his  feet,  crying,  "  Spare 
my  honor  and  my  life,  and  I  will  confess 
everything ! " 

"  What  can  you  have  to  confess  to 
me  ? "  exclaimed  Ahmed,  in  amazement. 

"  Oh,  nothing,  —  nothing  with  which 
you  are  not  already  acquainted.  You 
know  too  well  that  I  stole  the  ruby  from 
the  king's  crown.  I  did  so  to  punish  my 
husband,  who  uses  me  most  cruelly  ;  and 


40          STORY   OP   AHMED  THE   COBBLER. 

I  thought  by  this  means  to  obtain  riches 
for  myself,  and  to  have  him  put  to  death. 
But  you,  most  wonderful  man,  from  whom 
nothing  is  hidden,  have  discovered  and 
defeated  my  wicked  plan.  I  beg  only  for 
mercy,  and  will  do  whatever  you  com- 
mand me." 

An  angel  from  heaven  could  not  have 
brought  more  consolation  to  Ahmed  than 
did  the  jeweller's  wife.  He  assumed  all 
the  dignified  solemnity  that  became  his 
new  character,  and  said,  "  Woman !  I 
know  all  them  hast  done,  and  it  is  for- 
tunate for  thee  that  them  hast  come  to 
confess  thy  sin,  and  beg  for  mercy  before 
it  was  too  late.  Return  to  thy  house ; 
put  the  ruby  under  the  pillow  of  the 
couch  on  which  thy  husband  sleeps ;  let 
it  be  laid  on  the  side  farthest  from  the 
door ;  and  be  satisfied  thy  guilt  shall 
never  be  even  suspected." 

The  jeweller's  wife  returned  home  and 
did  as  she  was  desired.  In  an  hour  Ah- 
med followed  her,  and  told  the  jeweller 
he  had  made  his  calculations,  and  found 


STORY   OF  AHMED  THE  COBBLER.          41 

by  the  aspect  of  the  sun  and  moon,  and 
by  the  configuration  of  the  stars,  that 
the  ruby  was  at  that  moment  lying  under 
the  pillow  of  his  couch,  on  the  side  far- 
thest from  the  door.  The  jeweller  thought 
Ahmed  must  be  crazy ;  but  as  a  ray  of 
hope  is  like  a  ray  from  heaven  to  the 
wretched,  he  ran  to  his  couch,  and  there, 
to  his  joy  and  wonder,  found  the  ruby  in 
the  very  place  described.  He  came  back 
to  Ahmed,  embraced  him,  called  him  his 
dearest  friend  and  the  preserver  of  his 
life,  gave  him  the  two  hundred  pieces  of 
gold,  declaring  that  he  was  the  first  as- 
trologer of  the  age. 

These  praises  conveyed  no  joy  to  the 
poor  cobbler,  who  returned  home  more 
thankful  to  God  for  his  preservation  than 
elated  by  his  good  fortune.  The  moment 
he  entered  the  door,  his  wife  ran  up  to 
him  and  exclaimed,  "  Well,  my  dear 
astrologer,  what  success?" 

"  There  !  "  said  Ahmed  very  gravely, 
"  there  are  two  hundred  pieces  of  gold  :  I 
hope  you  will  be  satisfied  now,  and  not 


42          STORY   OF   AHMED   THE   COBBLER, 

ask  me  again  to  hazard  my  life,  as  I  have 
done  this  morning."  He  then  related  all 
that  had  passed.  But  the  recital  made 
a  very  different  impression  on  the  lady 
from  what  these  occurrences  had  made 
on  Ahmed.  Sittara  saw  nothing  but  the 
gold,  which  would  enable  her  to  vie  with 
the  chief  astrologer's  wife  at  the  Hern- 
mam.  "  Courage  !  "  she  said,  "  courage, 
my  dearest  husband  !  This  is  only  your 
first  labor  in  your  new  and  noble  profes- 
sion. Go  on,  and  prosper  ;  and  we  shall 
become  rich  and  happy." 

In  vain  Ahmed  remonstrated,  and  rep- 
resented the  danger  ;  she  burst  into  tears, 
and  accused  him  of  not  loving  her,  ending 
with  her  usual  threat  of  insisting  upon  a 
divorce. 

Ahmed's  heart  melted,  and  he  agreed 
to  make  another  trial.  Accordingly, 
next  morning  he  sallied  forth  with  his 
astrolabe,  his  twelve  signs  of  the  zodiac, 
and  his  almanac,  exclaiming  as  before, 
"I  am  an  astrologer!  I  know  the  sun, 
and  the  moon,  and  the  stars,  and  the 


STORY   OF  AHMED  THE  COBBLER.          43 

twelve  signs  of  the  zodiac ;  I  can  calcu- 
late nativities  ;  I  can  foretell  everything 
that  is  to  happen !  "  A  crowd  again  gath- 
ered round  him,  but  it  was  now  with 
wonder,  and  not  ridicule ;  for  the  story 
of  the  ruby  had  gone  abroad,  and  the 
voice  of  fame  had  converted  the  poor 
cobbler  Ahmed  into  the  ablest  and  most 
learned  astrologer  that  was  ever  seen  at 
Isfahan. 

While  everybody  was  gazing  at  him, 
a  lady  passed  by  veiled.  She  was  the 
wife  of  one  of  the  richest  merchants  in 
the  city,  and  had  just  been  at  the  Hem- 
mam,  where  she  had  lost  a  valuable  neck- 
lace and  ear-rings.  She  was  now  return- 
ing home  in  great  alarm,  lest  her  husband 
should  suspect  her  of  having  given  her 
jewels  to  a  lover.  Seeing  the  crowd 
around  Ahmed,  she  asked  the  reason  of 
their  assembling,  and  was  informed  of 
the  whole  story  of  the  famous  astrologer : 
how  he  had  been  a  cobbler,  was  inspired 
with  supernatural  knowledge,  and  could, 
with  the  help  of  his  astrolabe,  his  twelve 


44          STORY   OF   AHMED   THE   COBBLER. 

signs  of  the  zodiac,  and  his  almanac,  dis- 
cover all  that  ever  had,  or  ever  would 
happen  in  the  world.  The  story  of  the 
jeweller  and  the  king's  ruby  was  then 
told  her,  accompanied  by  a  thousand  won- 
derful circumstances  which  had  never  oc- 
curred. The  lady,  quite  satisfied  of  his 
skill,  went  up  to  Ahmed  and  mentioned 
her  loss ;  saying,  "  A  man  of  your  knowl- 
edge and  penetration  will  easily  discover 
my  jewels :  find  them,  and  I  will  give 
you  fifty  pieces  of  gold." 

The  poor  cobbler  was  quite  confounded, 
and  looked  down,  thinking  only  how  to 
escape  without  a  public  exposure  of  his 
ignorance.  The  lady,  in  pressing  through 
the  crowd,  had  torn  the  lower  part  of 
her  veil.  Ahmed's  downcast  eyes  noticed 
this ;  and  wishing  to  inform  her  of  it  in 
a  delicate  manner,  before  it  was  observed 
by  others,  he  whispered  to  her,  "  Lady, 
look  down  at  the  rent."  The  lady's  head 
was  full  of  her  loss,  and  she  was  at  that 
moment  endeavoring  to  recollect  how 
it  could  have  occurred.  Ahmed's  speech 


STORY  OP  AHMED  THE   COBBLER.          45 

brought  it  at  once  to  her  mind,  and  she 
exclaimed  in  delighted  surprise,  "Stay 
here  a  few  moments,  thou  great  astrol- 
oger. I  will  return  immediately  with 
the  reward  thou  so  well  deservest."  Say- 
ing this,  she  left  him,  and  soon  returned, 
carrying  in  one  hand  the  necklace  and 
ear-rings,  and  in  the  other,  a  purse  with 
the  fifty  pieces  of  gold.  "  There  is  gold 
for  thee,"  she  said,  "  thou  wonderful 
man,  to  whom  all  the  secrets  of  nature 
are  revealed !  I  had  quite  forgotten 
where  I  laid  the  jewels,  and  without  thee 
should  never  have  found  them.  But 
when  thou  desiredst  me  to  look  at  the 
rent  below,  I  instantly  recollected  the 
rent  near  the  bottom  of  the  wall  in  the 
bath-room,  where,  before  undressing,  I 
had  hid  them.  I  can  now  go  home  in 
peace  and  comfort ;  and  it  is  all  owing 
to  thee,  thou  wisest  of  men !  " 

After  these  words  she  walked  away, 
and  Ahmed  returned  to  his  home,  thank- 
ful to  Providence  for  his  preservation, 
and  fully  resolved  never  again  to  tempt 


46          STORY   OF   AHMED   THE   COBBLER. 

it.  His  handsome  wife,  however,  could 
not  yet  rival  the  chief  astrologer's  lady 
in  her  appearance  at  the  Hemraam,  so 
she  renewed  her  entreaties  and  threats 
to  make  her  fond  husband  continue  his 
career  as  an  astrologer. 

About  this  time  it  happened  that  the 
king's  treasury  was  robbed  of  forty  chests 
of  gold  and  jewels,  forming  the  greater 
part  of  the  wealth  of  the  kingdom.  The 
high  treasurer  and  other  officers  of  state 
used  all  diligence  to  find  the  thieves,  but 
in  vain.  The  king  sent  for  his  astrol- 
oger, and  declared  that  if  the  robbers 
were  not  detected  by  a  stated  time,  he, 
as  well  as  the  principal  ministers,  should 
be  put  to  death.  Only  one  day  of  the 
short  period  given  them  remained.  All 
their  search  had  proved  fruitless,  and 
the  chief  astrologer,  who  had  made  his 
calculations  and  exhausted  his  art  to  no 
purpose,  had  quite  resigned  himself  to 
his  fate,  when  one  of  his  friends  advised 
him  to  send  for  the  wonderful  cobbler, 
who  had  become  so  famous  for  his  extraor- 


STORY   OF   AHMED   THE   COBBLER.  47 

clinary  discoveries.  Two  slaves  were  im- 
mediately despatched  for  Ahmed,  whom 
they  commanded  to  go  with  them  to  their 
master.  "  You  see  the  effects  of  your 
ambition,"  said  the  poor  cobbler  to  his 
wife ;  "  I  am  going  to  my  death.  The 
king's  astrologer  has  heard  of  my  pre- 
sumption, and  is  determined  to  have  me 
executed  as  an  impostor." 

On  entering  the  palace  of  the  chief 
astrologer,  he  was  surprised  to  see  that 
dignified  person  come  forward  to  receive 
him  and  lead  him  to  the  seat  of  honor, 
and  not  less  so  to  hear  himself  thus  ad- 
dressed :  "  The  ways  of  heaven,  most 
learned  and  excellent  Ahmed,  are  un- 
searchable. The  high  are  often  cast  down 
and  the  low  are  lifted  up.  The  whole 
world  depends  upon  fate  and  fortune. 
It  is  my  turn  nowr  to  be  depressed  by  fate ; 
it  is  thine  to  be  exalted  by  fortune." 

His  speech  was  here  interrupted  by  a 
messenger  from  the  king,  who,  having 
heard  of  the  cobbler's  fame,  desired  his 
attendance.  Poor  Ahmed  now  concluded 


48          STORY  OF  AHMED  THE  COBBLER. 

that  it  was  all  over  with  him,  and  fol- 
lowed the  king's  messenger,  praying  to 
God  that  he  would  deliver  him  from  this 
peril.  When  he  came  into  the  king's 
presence,  he  bent  his  body  to  the  ground, 
and  wished  his  majesty  long  life  and 
prosperity.  "  Tell  me,  Ahmed,"  said  the 
king,  "  who  has  stolen  my  treasure." 

"  It  was  not  one  man,"  answered  Ah- 
med, after  some"  consideration ;  "  there 
were  forty  thieves  concerned  in  the 
robbery." 

"  Very  well,"  said  the  king ;  "  but  who 
were  they ;  and  what  have  they  done 
with  my  gold  and  jewels?" 

"  These  questions,"  said  Ahmed,  "  I 
cannot  now  answer ;  but  I  hope  to  sat- 
isfy your  majesty,  if  you  will  grant  me 
forty  days  to  make  my  calculations." 

"  I  grant  you  forty  days,"  said  the 
king ;  "  but  when  they  are  past,  if  my 
treasure  is  not  found,  your  life  shall  pay 
the  forfeit." 

Ahmed  returned  to  his  house  well 
pleased,  for  he  resolved  to  take  advan- 


STORY   OF   AHMED   THE   COBBLER.          49 

tage  of  the  time  allowed  him  to  fly  from 
a  city  where  his  fame  was  likely  to  be 
his  ruin.  "  Well,  Ahmed,"  said  his  wife, 
as  he  entered,  "  what  news  at  court  ?  " 

"  No  news  at  all,"  said  he,  "  except 
that  I  am  to  be  put  to  death  at  the  end 
of  forty  days,  unless  I  find  forty  chests  of 
gold  and  jewels,  which  have  been  stolen 
from  the  royal  treasury." 

"  But  3*011  will  discover  the  thieves." 

"  How  ?  By  what  means  am  I  to  find 
them  ? " 

"  By  the  same  art  which  discovered  the 
ruby  and  the  lady's  necklace." 

"  The  same  art ! "  replied  Ahmed. 
"  Foolish  woman  !  thou  knowest  that  I 
have  no  art,  and  that  I  have  only  pre- 
tended to  it  for  the  sake  of  pleasing  thee. 
But  I  have  had  sufficient  skill  to  gain 
forty  days,  during  which  time  we  may 
easily  escape  to  some  other  city,  and, 
with  the  money  I  now  possess,  and  the 
aid  of  my  former  occupation,  we  may 
still  obtain  an  honest  livelihood." 

"  An  honest  livelihood  !  "  repeated  his 

4 


50          STORY   OF  AHMED   THE   COBBLER. 

lady,  with  scorn.  "  Will  thy  cobbling, 
thou  mean,  spiritless  wretch,  ever  enable 
me  to  go  to  the  Heinmam,  like  the  wife  of 
the  chief  astrologer  ?  Hear  me,  Ahmed  ! 
Think  only  of  discovering  the  king's  treas- 
ure. Thou  hast  just  as  good  a  chance  of 
doing  so  as  thou  hadst  of  finding  the  ruby, 
and  the  necklace  and  ear-rings.  At  all 
events,  I  am  determined  thou  shalt  not 
escape  ;  and  shouldst  thou  attempt  to  run 
away,  I  will  inform  the  king's  officers,  and 
have  thee  taken  up  and  put  to  death,  even 
before  the  forty  days  are  expired.  Thou 
knowest  me  too  well,  Ahmed,  to  doubt 
my  keeping  my  word.  So  take  courage, 
and  endeavor  to  make  thy  fortune,  and 
to  place  me  in  that  rank  of  life  to  which 
my  beauty  entitles  me." 

The  poor  cobbler  was  dismayed  at  this 
speech ;  but  knowing  there  was  no  hope 
of  changing  his  wife's  resolution,  he  re- 
signed himself  to  his  fate.  "  Well,"  said 
he,  "your  will  shall  be  obeyed.  All  I 
desire  is  to  pass  the  few  remaining  days 
of  my  life  as  comfortably  as  I  can.  You 


STORY   OF  AHMED   THE   COBBLER.  51 

know  I  am  no  scholar,  and  have  little 
skill  in  reckoning ;  so  there  are  forty 
dates ;  give  me  one  of  them  every  night 
after  I  have  said  my  prayers,  that  I  may 
put  them  in  a  jar,  and,  by  counting  them, 
may  always  see  how  many  of  the  few 
days  I  have  to  live  are  gone." 

The  lady,  pleased  at  carrying  her 
point,  took  the  dates,  and  promised  to 
be  punctual  in  doing  what  her  husband 
desired. 

Meanwhile  the  thieves  who  had  stolen 
the  king's  treasure,  having  been  kept 
from  leaving  the  city  by  fear  of  detection 
and  pursuit,  had  received  accurate  infor- 
mation of  every  measure  taken  to  dis- 
cover them.  One  of  them  was  among  the 
crowd  before  the  palace  on  the  day  the 
king  sent  for  Ahmed ;  and  hearing  that 
the  cobbler  had  immediately  declared 
their  exact  number,  he  ran  in  a  fright 
to  his  comrades,  and  exclaimed,  "  "We  are 
all  found  out !  Ahmed,  the  new  astrolo- 
ger, has  told  the  king  that  there  are  forty 
of  us." 


52          STORY   OP  AHMED  THE   COBBLER. 

"  There  needed  no  astrologer  to  tell 
that,"  said  the  captain  of  the  gang.  "  This 
Ahmed,  with  all  his  simple  good-nature, 
is  a  shrewd  fellow.  Forty  chests  having 
been  stolen,  he  naturally  guessed  that 
there  must  be  forty  thieves ;  and  he  has 
made  a  good  hit,  that  is  all :  still,  it  is 
prudent  to  watch  him,  for  he  certainly 
has  made  some  strange  discoveries.  One 
of  us  must  go  to-night,  after  dark,  to  the 
terrace  of  this  cobbler's  house,  and  listen 
to  his  conversation  with  his  handsome 
wife ;  for  he  is  said  to  be  very  fond  of 
her,  and  will,  no  doubt,  tell  her  what 
success  he  has  had  in  his  endeavors  to 
detect  us." 

Everybody  approved  of  this  scheme, 
and  soon  after  nightfall  one  of  the  thieves 
repaired  to  the  terrace.  He  arrived  there 
just  as  the  cobbler  had  finished  his  even- 
ing prayers,  and  his  wife  was  giving  him 
the  first  date.  "  Ah,"  said  Ahmed,  as  he 
took  it,  "  there  is  one  of  the  forty." 

The  thief,  hearing  these  words,  has- 
tened, in  consternation,  to  the  gang,  and 


STORY  OF  AHMED  THE  COBBLER.          53 

told  them  that  the  moment  he  took  his 
post  he  had  been  perceived  by  the  super- 
natural knowledge  of  Ahmed,  who  imme- 
diately told  his  wife  that  one  of  them 
was  there.  The  spy's  tale  was  not  be- 
lieved by  his  hardened  companions ;  some- 
thing was  imputed  to  his  fears  ;  he  might 
have  been  mistaken ;  in  short,  it  was 
determined  to  send  two  men  the  next 
night  at  the  same  hour.  They  reached 
the  house  just  as  Ahmed,  having  finished 
his  prayers,  had  received  the  second  date, 
and  heard  him  exclaim,  "  My  dear  wife, 
to-night  there  are  two  of  them  !  " 

The  astonished  thieves  fled,  and  told 
their  still  incredulous  comrades  what  they 
had  heard.  Three  men  were  consequently 
sent  the  third  night,  four  the  fourth,  and 
so  on.  Being  afraid  of  venturing  during 
the  day,  they  always  came  as  evening 
closed  in,  and  just  as  Ahmed  was  receiv- 
ing his  date  :  hence  they  all  in  turn  heard 
him  say  that  which  convinced  them  he 
was  aware  of  their  presence.  On  the 
last  night  they  all  went,  and  Ahmed 


54          STORY   OF   AHMED   THE   COBBLER. 

exclaimed  aloud,  "  The  number  is  com- 
plete !  To-night  the  whole  forty  are 
here ! " 

.All  doubts  were  now  removed.  It  was 
impossible  that  Ahmed  should  have  dis- 
covered them  by  any  natural  means.  How 
could  he  ascertain  their  exact  number, 
and  night  after  night,  without  ever  once 
being  mistaken  ?  He  must  have  learnt 
it  by  his  skill  in  astrology.  Even  the 
captain  now  yielded,  in  spite  of  his  in- 
credulity, and  declared  his  opinion  that 
it  was  hopeless  to  elude  a  man  thus 
gifted ;  he  therefore  advised  that  they 
should  make  a  friend  of  the  cobbler,  by 
confessing  everything  to  him,  and  bribing 
him  to  secrecy  by  a  share  of  the  booty. 

His  advice  was  approved  of,  and  an 
hour  before  dawn  they  knocked  at  Ah- 
med's door.  The  poor  man  jumped  out 
of  bed,  and,  supposing  the  soldiers  were 
come  to  lead  him  to  execution,  cried  out, 
"  Have  patience  !  I  know  what  you  are 
come  for.  It  is  a  very  unjust  and  wicked 
deed." 


STORY   OF  AHMED  THE   COBBLER.          55 

"  Most  wonderful  man  !  "  said  the  cap- 
tain, as  the  door  was  opened,  "  we  are 
fully  convinced  that  thou  knowest  why 
we  are  come,  nor  do  we  mean  to  justify 
the  action  of  which  thou  speakest.  Here 
are  two  thousand  pieces  of  gold,  which 
we  will  give  thee,  provided  thou  wilt 
swear  to  say  nothing  more  about  the 
matter." 

"Say  nothing  about  it !  "  said  Ahmed. 
"  Do  you  think  it  possible  I  can  suffer 
such  gross  wrong  and  injustice  without 
complaining,  and  making  it  known  to  all 
the  world  ?  " 

"  Have  mercy  upon  us  !  "  exclaimed  the 
thieves,  falling  on  their  knees ;  "  only 
spare  our  lives,  and  we  will  restore  the 
royal  treasure." 

The  cobbler  started,  rubbed  his  eyes 
to  see  if  he  were  asleep  or  awake  ;  and 
being  satisfied  that  he  was  awake,  and 
that  the  men  before  him  were  really  the 
thieves,  he  assumed  a  solemn  tone,  and 
said,  "  Guilty  men  !  ye  are  persuaded  that 
ye  cannot  escape  from  my  penetration, 


56          STORY   OF   AHMED   THE   COBBLER. 

which  reaches  unto  the  sun  and  moon, 
and  knows  the  position  and  aspect  of 
every  star  in  the  heavens.  Your  timely 
repentance  has  saved  you.  But  ye  must 
immediately  restore  all  that  ye  have  sto- 
len. Go  straightway,  and  carry  the  forty 
chests  exactly  as  ye  found  them,  and  bury 
them  a  foot  deep  under  the  southern  wall 
of  the  old  ruined  Hemmfim,  beyond  the 
king's  palace.  If  ye  do  this  punctually, 
your  lives  are  spared ;  but  if  ye  fail  in 
the  slightest  degree,  destruction  will  fall 
upon  you  and  your  families." 

The  thieves  promised  obedience  to  his 
commands,  and  departed.  Ahmed  then 
fell  on  his  knees,  and  returned  thanks  to 
God  for  this  signal  mark  of  his  favor. 
About  two  hours  after  the  royal  guards 
came,  and  desired  Ahmed  to  follow  them. 
He  said  he  would  attend  them  as  soon 
as  he  had  taken  leave  of  his  wife,  to 
whom  he  determined  not  to  impart  what 
had  occurred  until  he  saw  the  result. 
He  bade  her  farewell  very  affectionately  ; 
she  supported  herself  with  great  forti- 


STORY   OF  AHMED  THE  COBBLER.          57 

tucle  on  this  trying  occasion,  exhorting 
her  husband  to  be  of  good  cheer,  and 
said  a  few  words  about  the  goodness 
of  Providence.  But  the  fact  was,  Sittfira 
fancied  that  if  God  took  the  worthy 
cobbler  to  himself,  her  beauty  might 
attract  some  rich  lover,  who  would  enable 
her  to  go  to  the  Hemmam  with  as  much 
splendor  as  the  astrologer's  lady,  whose 
image,  adorned  with  jewels  and  fine 
clothes,  and  surrounded  by  slaves,  still 
haunted  her  imagination. 

The  decrees  of  Heaven  are  just :  a 
reward  suited  to  their  merits  awaited 
Ahmed  and  his  wife.  The  good  man 
stood  with  a  cheerful  countenance  before 
the  king,  who  was  impatient  for  his  ar- 
rival, and  immediately  said,  "  Ahmed, 
thy  looks  are  promising ;  hast  thou  dis- 
covered my  treasure  ? " 

"Does  your  majesty  require  the  thieves, 
or  the  treasure  ?  The  stars  will  only 
grant  one  or  the  other,"  said  Ahmed, 
looking  at  his  table  of  astrological  cal- 
culations. "Your  majesty  must  make 


58          STORY   OF  AHMED   THE   COBBLER. 

your  choice.  I  can  deliver  up  either,  but 
not  both." 

"  I  should  be  sorry  not  to  punish  the 
thieves,"  answered  the  king ;  "  but  if  it 
must  be  so,  I  choose  the  treasure." 

"  And  you  give  the  thieves  a  full  and 
free  pardon  ?  " 

"  I  do,  provided  I  find  my  treasure 
untouched." 

"  Then,"  said  Ahmed,  "  if  your  majes- 
ty will  follow  me,  the  treasure  shall  be 
restored  to  you." 

The  king  and  all  his  nobles  followed 
the  cobbler  to  the  ruins  of  the  old  Hem- 
mam.  There,  casting  his  eyes  toward 
Heaven,  Ahmed  muttered  some  sounds, 
which  were  supposed  by  the  spectators 
to  be  magical  conjurations,  but  which 
were  in  reality  the  prayers  and  thanks- 
givings of  a  sincere  and  pious  heart 
to  God,  for  his  wonderful  deliverance. 
When  his  prayer  was  finished,  he  pointed 
to  the  southern  wall,  and  requested  that 
his  majesty  would  order  his  attendants 
to  dig  there.  The  work  was  hardly 


STORY   OF   AHMED  THE   COBBLER.          59 

begun,  when  the  whole  forty  chests  were 
found  in  the  same  state  as  when  stolen, 
with  the  treasurer's  seal  upon  them  still 
unbroken. 

The  king's  joy  knew  no  bounds :  he 
embraced  Ahmed,  and  immediately  ap- 
pointed him  his  chief  astrologer,  assigned 
to  him  an  apartment  in  the  palace,  and 
declared  that  he  should  marry l  his  only 
daughter,  as  it  was  his  duty  to  promote 
the  man  whom  God  had  so  singularly 
favored,  and  had  made  instrumental  in 
restoring  the  treasures  of  his  kingdom. 
The  young  princess,  who  was  more  beau- 
tiful than  the  moon,  was  not  dissatisfied 
with  her  father's  choice ;  for  her  mind 
was  stored  with  religion  and  virtue,  and 
she  had  learnt  to  value  beyond  all  earthly 
qualities  that  piety  and  learning  which 
she  believed  Ahmed  to  possess.  The  royal 
will  was  carried  into  execution  as  soon  as 
formed.  The  wheel  of  fortune  had  taken 

1  It  is  very  common  in  the  East  for  the  daughters 
of  monarcbs  to  be  married  to  men  eminent  for  piety  or 
learning,  however  low  their  origin. 


60          STORY   OF  AHMED   THE   COBBLER. 

a  complete  turn.  The  morning  had  found 
Ahmed  in  a  wretched  hovel,  rising  from 
a  sorry  bed,  in  the  expectation  of  losing 
his  life :  in  the  evening  he  was  the  lord 
of  a  rich  palace,  and  married  to  the  only 
daughter  of  a  powerful  king.  But  this 
change  did  not  alter  his  character.  As 
he  had  been  meek  and  humble  in  adver- 
sity, he  was  modest  and  gentle  in  pros- 
perity. Conscious  of  his  own  ignorance, 
he  continued  to  ascribe  his  good  fortune 
solely  to  the  favor  of  Providence.  He 
became  daily  more  attached  to  the  beau- 
tiful and  virtuous  princess  whom  he  had 
married  ;  and  he  could  not  help  contrast- 
ing her  character  with  that  of  his  former 
wife,  whom  he  had  ceased  to  love,  and  of 
whose  unreasonable  and  unfeeling  vanity 
he  was  now  fully  sensible. 

As  Ahmed  did  not  return  to  his  house, 
Sittara  only  heard  of  his  elevation  from 
common  rumor.  She  saw  with  despair 
that  her  wishes  for  his  advancement  had 
been  more  than  accomplished,  but  that 
all  her  own  desires  had  been  entirely  frus- 


STORY   OF   AHMED  THE   COBBLER.          61 

trated.  Her  husband  was  chief  astrol- 
oger, —  the  very  situation  she  had  set  her 
heart  on;  he  was  rich  enough  to  enable 
his  wife  to  surpass  all  the  ladies  of  Isfa- 
han, in  the  number  of  her  slaves,  and 
the  finery  of  her  clothes  and  jewels, 
whenever  she  went  to  the  Hemmam  :  but 
he  had  married  a  princess ;  and  his  for- 
mer wife,  according  to  custom,  was  ban- 
ished from  his  house,  and  condemned  to 
live  on  whatever  pittance  she  might  re- 
ceive from  a  man  whose  love  and  esteem 
she  had  forever  forfeited.  These  thoughts 
distracted  her  mind. :  her  envy  was  ex- 
cited by  the  accounts  she  daily  heard  of 
Ahmed's  happiness,  and  of  the  beauty  of 
the  princess ;  and  she  now  became  anxious 
only  for  his  destruction,  looking  on  him  as 
the  sole  cause  of  her  disappointment. 

An  opportunity  of  indulging  her  re- 
vengeful feelings  was  not  long  wanting. 
The  king  of  Seestan  had  sent  an  emerald 
of  extraordinary  size  and  brilliancy  as 
a  present  to  the  king  of  Irak.  It  was 
carefully  enclosed  in  a  box,  to  which 


62          STORY   OF   AHMED   THE   COBBLER. 

there  were  three  keys,  and  one  of  them 
was  given  in  charge  to  each  of  the  three 
confidential  servants  employed  to  convey 
it.  When  they  reached  Isfahan,  the  box 
was  opened,  but  the  emerald  was  gone. 
Nothing  could  exceed  their  consternation  ; 
each  accused  the  other :  as  the  lock  was 
not  broken,  it  was  evident  one  of  them 
must  be  the  thief.  They  consulted  what 
was  to  be  done.  To  conceal  what  had  hap- 
pened was  impossible ;  the  very  attempt 
would  have  brought  death  on  them  all. 
It  was  resolved,  therefore,  to  lay  the 
whole  matter  before  the  king,  and  beg 
that  by  his  great  wisdom  he  would  detect 
the  culprit,  and  that  he  would  show 
mercy  to  the  other  two. 

The  king  heard  the  story  with  aston- 
ishment, but  was  unable  to  find  any  clew 
by  which  he  might  ascertain  the  truth. 
He  summoned  his  vizier  and  all  the  wis- 
est men  of  his  court ;  but  they  were  as 
much  at  a  loss  as  their  master.  The 
report  spread  through  the  city ;  and  Sit- 
tara  thought  she  had  now  the  means 


STORY  OF  AHMED  THE   COBBLER.          63 

of  working  her  husband's  ruin.  She  so- 
licited a  private  audience  of  his  majesty, 
on  the  plea  of  having  a  communication 
of  importance  to  make.  Her  request  was 
granted.  On  entering  the  royal  pres- 
ence she  threw  herself  at  his  feet,  ex- 
claiming, "  Pardon,  0  king,  my  having 
so  long  concealed  the  guilt  of  my  husband 
Ahmed,  whose  alliance  is  a  disgrace  to 
the  royal  blood !  He  is  no  astrologer,  but 
an  associate  of  thieves,  and  by  that  means 
alone  did  he  discover  the  royal  treasure. 
If  any  doubts  are  entertained  of  my 
speaking  the  truth,  let  his  majesty  com- 
mand Ahmed  to  recover  the  emerald 
which  the  servants  of  the  king  of  Seestan 
have  stolen.  Surely  the  man  who  by  his 
wonderful  art  ascertained  where  all  the 
treasure  of  the  kingdom  was  concealed, 
will  find  it  an  easy  matter  to  discover  a 
single  precious  stone." 

The  king,  who  loved  his  son-in-law, 
was  grieved  by  this  information.  Still, 
as  the  honor  of  his  family  was  concerned, 
he  resolved  to  put  Ahmed  to  the  test, 


64          STORY   OF   AHMED   THE   COBBLER. 

and,  if  he  found  him  an  impostor,  to  vin- 
dicate the  royal  dignity  by  his  condign 
punishment.  He  therefore  sent  for  Ah- 
med, told  him  what  had  happened,  and 
added,  "  I  give  you  twenty  days  to  dis- 
cover who  stole  the  emerald.  If  you 
succeed,  you  shall  be  raised  to  the  highest 
honors  of  the  state.  If  not,  you  shall 
suffer  death  for  having  deceived  me." 

Poor  Ahmed  quitted  the  presence  quite 
disconsolate.  The  princess,  perceiving 
his  affliction,  inquired  the  cause.  Ahmed 
was  by  nature  as  sincere  as  he  was  pious 
and  humble.  He  related,  without  con- 
cealment or  disguise,  every  event  of  his 
past  life,  and  concluded  with  these 
words  :  "  You  must  see,  from  what  I 
have  said,  how  incapable  I  am  of  doing 
what  your  father  enjoins.  My  life  must 
answer  for  it;  and  my  only  consolation 
is,  that  I  shall,  in  twenty  days,  relieve 
you  from  a  husband  whom  from  this 
time  you  must  despise." 

"  I  only  love  you  the  better,  my  dear 
Ahmed,  for  your  sincerity  and  truth,"  said 


STORY  OF  AHMED  THE   COBBLER.          65 

the  princess.  "  One  who  has  been  so  fa- 
vored by  Heaven  must  be  dear  to  every 
pious  heart.  Be  of  good  cheer ;  I  will 
turn  astrologer  this  time,  and  see  whether 
I  can  find  out  the  thief.  All  I  require 
is,  that  you  endeavor  to  be  composed, 
while  I  consult  the  stars  and  make  my 
calculations." 

Ahmed,  delighted  with  this  proof  of 
affection,  and  reassured  by  the  confidence 
of  her  manner,  promised  to  be  obedient, 
and  said  he  would  only  venture  to  assist 
her  exertions  by  his  earnest  prayers  to  that 
Power  which  had  never  deserted  him. 

The  princess  immediately  invited  the 
messengers  from  the  king  of  Seestan 
to  her  palace.  They  were  surprised  at 
the  invitation,  and  still  more  at  their 
reception.  "  You  are  strangers,"  she  said 
to  them,  "and  come  from  a  powerful 
king ;  it  is  my  wish  to  show  you  every 
attention.  As  to  the  lost  emerald,  think 
no  more  of  it ;  it  is  a  mere  trifle.  I  will 
intercede  with  the  king,  my  father,  to 
give  himself  no  further  concern  on  the 
5 


66    STORY  OF  AHMED  THE  COBBLER. 

subject,  being  convinced  that  it  has  been 
lost  by  one  of  those  strange  accidents  for 
which  it  is  impossible  to  account." 

The  princess  entertained  the  strangers 
for  several  days,  and  during  that  time 
the  emerald  seemed  to  be  forgotten. 
She  conversed  with  them  freely,  inquir- 
ing particularly  of  Seestan,  and  the  coun- 
tries they  had  seen  on  their  travels. 
Flattered  by  her  condescension,  they  be- 
came confident  of  their  safety,  and  were 
delighted  with  their  royal  patroness.  The 
princess,  seeing  them  completely  off  their 
guard,  turned  the  conversation  one  even- 
ing on  wonderful  occurrences,  and  after 
each  had  related  his  story,  said,  "  I  will 
now  recount  to  you  some  events  of  my 
own  life,  which  you  will,  I  think,  deem 
more  extraordinary  than  any  you  have 
ever  heard. 

"I  arn  my  father's  only  child,  and 
have  therefore  been  a  favorite  from  my 
birth.  I  was  brought  up  in  the  belief 
that  I  could  command  whatever  this 
world  can  afford,  and  was  taught  that 


STORY  pF  AHMED  THE  COBBLER.     67 

unbounded  liberality  is  the  first  and  most 
princely  of  virtues.  I  early  resolved  to 
surpass  every  former  example  of  gener- 
osity. I  thought  rny  power  of  doing 
good.,  and  making  everybody  happy,  was 
as  unlimited  as  my  wish  to  do  so  j  and  I 
could  not  conceive  the  existence  of  mis- 
ery beyond  my  power  to  relieve.  When 
I  was  eighteen  I  was  betrothed  to  my 
cousin,  a  young  prince,  who  excelled  all 
others  in  beauty  of  person  and  nobleness 
of  mind,  and  I  fancied  myself  at  the 
summit  of  happiness.  It  chanced,  how- 
ever, that  on  the  morning  of  my  nuptials 
I  went  to  walk  in  a  garden  near  the 
palace,  where  I  had  been  accustomed  to 
spend  some  hours  daily  from  my  child- 
hood. The  old  gardener,  with  whose 
cheerfulness  I  had  often  been  amused, 
met  me.  Seeing  him  look  very  miserable, 
I  asked  him  what  was  the  matter.  He 
evaded  a  direct  answer ;  but  I  insisted 
upon  his  disclosing  the  cause  of  his  grief, 
declaring  at  the  same  time  my  determi- 
nation to  remove  it. 


68          STORY   OF  AHMED   THE   COBBLER. 

"  '  You  cannot  relieve  me,'  said  the  old 
man,  with  a  deep  sigh  ;  '  it  is  out  of  your 
power,  my  beloved  princess,  to  heal  the 
wound  of  which  I  am  dying.' 

"My  pride  was  roused,  and  I  exclaimed, 
'  I  swear  — ' 

"  "  Do  not  swear  ! '  said  the  gardener, 
seizing  my  hand. 

" '  I  do  swear,'  I  repeated,  irritated  by 
the  opposition.  ( I  will  stop  at  nothing 
to  make  you  happy ;  and  I  further  swear 
that  I  will  not  leave  this  spot  until  you 
reveal  the  grief  which  preys  upon  you.' 

"  The  old  man,  seeing  my  resolution, 
spake  with  tremulous  emotion  as  follows : 
*'  Princess,  you  know  not  what  you  have 
done. .  Behold  a  man  who  has  dared  for 
these  two  years  to  look  upon  you  with 
an  eye  of  admiration ;  his  love  has  at 
length  reached  such  a  pitch  that  without 
you  he  must  be  wretched  forever;  and 
unless  you  consent  to  meet  him  in  the 
garden  to-night,  and  become  his  bride 
instead  of  that  of  the  prince,  he  must 
die.' 


STORY  OF  AHMED   THE   COBBLER.  69 

"  Shocked  by  this  unforeseen  declara- 
tion, and  trembling  at  the  thought  of  my 
oath,  I  tried  to  reason  with  the  old  gar- 
dener, and  offered  him  all  the  wealth  I 
possessed.  '  I  told  you,'  he  replied, 
i  beautiful  princess,  that  you  could  not 
make  me  happy.  I  endeavored  to  pre- 
vent your  rash  vow ;  and  nothing  but 
that  should  have  drawn  from  me  the 
secret  of  my  heart.  Death,  I  know,  is 
my  fate  ;  for  I  cannot  live  and  see  you  the 
wife  of  another.  Leave  me  to  die.  Go 
to  your  husband ;  go  to  the  enjoyment  of 
your  pomp  and  riches ;  but  never  again 
pretend  to  the  exercise  of  a  power  which 
depends  upon  a  thousand  circumstances 
that  no  human  being  can  regulate  or 
control.' 

"  This  speech  conveyed  a  bitter  re- 
proach. I  would  have  sacrificed  my  life 
a  hundred  times,  sooner  than  stain  my 
honor  by  marrying  this  man  ;  but  I  had 
made  a  vow  in  the  face  of  Heaven,  and 
to  break  it  seemed  sacrilege.  Besides,  I 
earnestly  wished  to  die  undeceived  in  my 


70          STORY   OF  AHMED   THE   COBBLER. 

favorite  notion  that  I  could  make  all 
who  came  near  me  happy.  Under  the 
struggle  of  these  different  feelings,  I  told 
the  gardener  his  desire  should  be  granted, 
and  that  I  would  be  in  the  garden  an 
hour  before  midnight.  After  this  assur- 
ance I  went  a,w&y,  resolved  in  my  own 
mind  not  to  outlive  the  disgrace  to  which 
I  had  doomed  myself. 

"  I  passed  the  day  in  the  deepest  mel- 
ancholy. A  little  before  midnight  I  con- 
trived to  dismiss  my  attendants,  and, 
arrayed  in  my  bridal  apparel,  which  was 
covered  with  the  richest  jewels,  I  went 
towards  the  garden.  I  had  not  pro- 
ceeded many  yards,  when  I  was  met  by 
a  thief,  who,  seizing  me,  said, .'  Let  me 
strip  you,  madam,  of  these  unnecessary 
ornaments  :  if  you  make  the  least  noise, 
instant  death  awaits  you.'  In  my  state 
of  mind  such  threats  frightened  me  little. 
I  wished  to  die,  but  I  wished,  before  I 
died,  to  fulfil  my  vow.  I  told  my  story 
to  the  thief,  beseeching  him  to  let  ine 
pass,  and  pledging  my  word  to  return, 


STORY   OF  AHMED   THE   COBBLER.  71 

that  he  might  not  be  disappointed  of  his 
booty.  After  some  hesitation,  he  allowed 
me  to  proceed. 

"  I  had  not  gone  many  steps,  when  I 
encountered  a  furious  lion,  which  had 
broken  loose  from  my  father's  menagerie. 
Knowing  the  merciful  nature  of  this 
animal  towards  the  weak  and  defenceless, 
I  dropped  on  my  knees,  repeated  my 
story,  and  assured  him,  if  he  would  let 
me  fulfil  my  vow,  I  would  come  back  to 
him  as  ready  to  be  destroyed  as  he  could 
be  to  make  me  his  prey.  The  lion  stepped 
aside,  and  I  went  into  the  garden. 

"  I  found  the  old  gardener  all  impa- 
tience for  my  arrival.  He  flew  to  meet 
me,  exclaiming  I  was  an  angel.  I  told 
him  I  was  resigned  to  my  engagement, 
but  had  not  long  to  live.  He  started, 
and  asked  what  I  meant.  I  gave  him 
an  account  of  rny  meeting  with  the  thief 
and  the  lion.  '  Wretch  that  I  am ! '  cried 
the  gardener ;  '  how  much  misery  have 
I  caused !  but  bad  as  I  am,  I  am  not 
worse  than  a  thief,  or  a  beast  of  prey, 


72          STORY   OF  AHMED   THE   COBBLER. 

which  I  should  be,  did  I  not  absolve  you 
from  your  vow,  and  assure  you  the  only 
way  in  which  you  can  now  make  me 
happy,  is  by  forgiving  my  wicked  pre- 
sumption.' 

"  I  was  completely  relieved  by  these 
words,  and  granted  the  forgiveness  de- 
sired ;  but  having  determined,  in  spite  of 
the  gardener's  remonstrances,  to  keep 
my  promises  to  the  thief  and  the  lion, 
I  refused  to  accept  his  protection.  On 
leaving  the  garden,  the  lion  met  me. 
'  Noble  lion,'  I  said,  '  I  am  come,  as  I 
promised  you.'  T  then  related  to  him 
how  the  gardener  had  absolved  me  from 
my  vow,  and  I  expressed  a  hope  that  the 
king  of  beasts  would  not  belie  his  renown 
for  generosity.  The  lion  again  stepped 
aside,  and  I  proceeded  to  the  thief,  who 
was  still  standing  where  I  left  him.  I 
told  him  I  was  now  in  his  power,  but 
that,  before  he  stripped  me,  I  must  relate 
to  him  what  had  happened  since  our  last 
meeting.  Having  heard  me,  he  turned 
away,  saying,  '  I  am  not  meaner  than  a 


STORY   OF  AHMED  THE  COBBLER.          73 

poor  gardener,  nor  more  cruel  than  a 
hungry  lion :  I  will  not  injure  what  they 
have  respected.' 

"•  Delighted  with  my  escapes,  I  returned 
to  my  father's  palace,  where  I  was  united 
to  my  cousin,  with  whom  I  lived  happily 
till  his  death  ;  persuaded,  however,  that 
the  power  of  human  beings  to  do  good  is 
very  limited,  and  that  when  they  leave 
the  narrow  path  marked  out  for  them 
by  their  Maker,  they  not  only  lose  their 
object,  but  often  wander  far  into  error 
and  guilt,  by  attempting  more  than  it  is 
possible  to  perform." 

The  princess  paused,  and  was  glad  to 
see  her  guests  so  enchanted  with  her 
story  that  it  had  banished  every  other 
thought  from  their  minds.  After  a  few 
moments  she  turned  to  one  of  them,  and 
asked,  "  Now  which,  think  you,  showed 
the  greatest  virtue  in  his  forbearance,  — 
the  gardener,  the  thief,  or  the  lion  ?  " 

"The  gardener,  assuredly,"  was  his 
answer ;  "to  abandon  so  lovely  a  prize, 
when  so  nearly  his  own." 


74          STORY   OF   AHMED   THE   COBBLER. 

"  And  what  is  3Tour  opinion  ?  "  said  the 
princess  to  his  neighbor. 

"  I  think  the  lion  was  the  most  gener- 
ous," he  replied.  "  He  must  have  been 
very  hungry;  and  in  such  a  state  it  was 
great  forbearance  to  abstain  from  devour- 
ing so  delicate  a  morsel." 

"  You  both  seem  to  me  quite  wrong," 
said  the  third,  impatiently;  "the  thief  had 
by  far  the  most  merit.  Gracious  Heav- 
ens !  to  have  within  his  grasp  such  wealth, 
and  to  refrain  from  taking  it !  I  could 
not  have  believed  it  possible,  unless  the 
princess  herself  had  assured  us  of  the 
fact." 

The  princess  now,  assuming  an  air  of 
dignity,  said  to  the  first  who  spoke,  "  You, 
I  perceive,  are  an  admirer  of  the  ladies ;  " 
to  the  second,  "  You  are  an  epicure ;  " 
and  then  turning  to  the  third,  who  was 
already  pale  with  fright,  "  You,  my  friend, 
have  the  emerald  in  your  possession.  You 
have  betrayed  yourself,  and  nothing  but 
an  immediate  confession  can  save  your 
life." 


STORY  OF  AHMED  THE  COBBLER.          75 

The  guilty  man's  countenance  removed 
all  doubt ;  and  when  the  princess  renewed 
her  assurances  of  safety,  he  threw  him- 
self at  her  feet,  acknowledged  his  offence, 
and  gave  her  the  emerald,  which  he  car- 
ried concealed  about  him.  The  princess 
rose,  went  to  her  husband,  and  said, 
"  There,  Ahmed,  what  do  you  think  of 
the  success  of  my  calculations?"  She  then 
related  the  whole  circumstance,  and  bade 
him  carry  the  jewel  to  her  father,  adding, 
"  I  trust  he  will  feel  a  greater  admiration 
than  ever  for  my  husband,  the  wonderful 
astrologer ! " 

Ahmed  took  the  emerald  in  silent  as- 
tonishment, and  went  with  it  to  the  king, 
of  whom  he  requested  a  private  audience. 
On  its  being  granted,  he  presented  the 
emerald.  The  king,  dazzled  by  its  bril- 
liancy and  size,  loaded  his  son-in-law 
with  the  most  extravagant  praises,  extol- 
ling him  as  superior  to  any  astrologer 
who  had  ever  been  seen  in  the  world. 
Poor  Ahmed,  conscious  how  little  he 
deserved  such  praise,  threw  himself  at 


76          STORY   OP  AHMED   THE   COBBLER. 

the  king's  feet,  and  begged  that  lie  might 
be  allowed  to  speak  the  truth,  as  he  was 
readier  to  die  than  to  continue  imposing 
on  his  majesty's  goodness.  "  You  impose 
on  me  !  "  said  the  king  ;  "  that  is  impos- 
sible. Did  you  not  recover  my  treasure  ? 
Have  you  not  brought  me  this  emerald  ?  " 
"  True,  0  king,"  said  Ahmed,  "  I  have 
done  so,  but  without  possessing  that  sci- 
ence for  which  I  have  gained  a  reputation." 
He  then  told  his  history  from  first  to  last 
with  perfect  sincerity.  The  king  showed 
great  displeasure  while  listening  to  his 
earlier  adventures ;  but  when  Ahmed  re- 
lated the  story  of  the  emerald,  interming- 
ling his  tale  with  fervent  expressions  of 
admiration  for  the  wonderful  wisdom  and 
virtue  of  the  princess,  he  heard  him  with 
delight.  After  he  had  finished,  the  king 
summoned  his  vizier  and  chief  counsellors, 
and  desired  that  his  daughter  also  might 
attend  ;  and  when  they  were  all  assembled, 
he  spake  as  follows  :  "  Daughter,  I  have 
learnt  the  history  of  thy  husband  from 
his  own  lips.  I  have  also  heard  much  in 


STORY  OF  AHMED  THE  COBBLER.          77 

confirmation  of  the  belief  I  have  long  en- 
tertained, that  thy  knowledge  and  good- 
ness are  even  greater  than  thy  beauty. 
They  prove  that  thou  wert  born  to  rule ; 
and  I  only  obey  the  will  of  Heaven,  and 
consult  the  happiness  of  my  people,  when 
I  resign  my  power  into  thy  hands,  being 
resolved  to  seek  that  repose  which  my 
declining  years  require.  As  to  thy  hus- 
band, thou  wilt  dispose  of  him  as  it 
pleases  thee.  His  birth,  I  always  knew, 
was  low,  but  I  thought  that  his  wisdom 
and  learning  raised  him  to  a  level  with 
the  highest  rank ;  these,  it  now  appears, 
he  does  not  possess.  If  thou  deemest  his 
alliance  a  disgrace,  divorce  him.  If,  on 
the  other  hand,  thou  art  willing  to  keep 
him  as  thy  husband,  do  so,  and  give  him 
such  share  as  thou  thinkest  fit  in  the 
authority  which  I  now  commit  to  thee." 
The  princess  knelt  to  kiss  her  father's 
hand,  and  answered,  "May  my  father's 
life  and  reign  be  prolonged  for  his  daugh- 
ter's happiness,  and  for  that  of  his  sub- 
jects !  I  am  a  weak  woman,  altogether 


78          STORY   OF  AHMED  THE   COBBLER. 

unequal  to  the  task  which  his  too  fond 
love  would  impose  on  me.  If  my  humble 
counsel  is  listened  to,  my  father  will  con- 
tinue to  govern  his  people,  whose  grati- 
tude and  veneration  will  make  obedience 
light,  and  rule  easy.  As  to  Ahmed,  I 
love  and  esteem  him  ;  he  is  sensible,  sin- 
cere, and  pious,  and  I  deem  myself  for- 
tunate in  having  for  my  husband  a  man 
so  peculiarly  favored  and  protected  by 
Heaven.  What,  my  dear  father,  are 
high  rank  or  brilliant  talents  without 
religion  and  virtue  ?  They  are  as  plants 
which  bear  gaudy  blossoms,  but  yield  no 
fruit." 

The  king  was  delighted  with  his  daugh- 
ter's wisdom  and  affection.  "  Your  ad- 
vice," he  said,  "  my  beloved  daughter, 
shall  be  followed.  I  will  continue  to  gov- 
ern my  kingdom,  while  you  and  Ahmed 
shall  assist  me  with  your  counsels." 

The  good  cobbler  was  soon  afterwards 
nominated  vizier;  and  the  same  virtue 
and  piety  which  had  obtained  him  re- 
spect in  the  humblest  sphere  of  life, 


STORY   OF   AHMED   THE   COBBLER.  79 

caused  him  to  be  loved  and  esteemed  in  the 
high  station  to  which  he  was  elevated. 

The  designs  of  Sittara  were  discovered, 
but  her  guilt  was  pardoned.  She  was  left 
with  a  mere  subsistence,  a  prey  to  dis- 
appointment ;  for  she  continued  to  the 
last  to  sigh  for  that  splendor  she  had 
seen  displayed  by  the  chief  astrologer's 
wife  at  the  Hemmam ;  thereby  affording 
a  salutary  lesson  to  those  who  admit 
envy  into  their  bosoms,  and  endeavor  to 
attain  their  ends  by  unreasonable  and 
unjustifiable  means. 


THE    END. 


